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When the Punjab Kings took on the Kolkata Knight Riders in their only faceoff last year, they gunned down a gargantuan 262-run target to set an all-time T20 record. Back then, Shreyas Iyer was captain of the Knight Riders and it was a minor blip in an otherwise seamless campaign which he oversaw.
Tonight, Shreyas will be in action again but as skipper of the Kings, perhaps extra motivated to prove a point against the Knight Riders with whom he couldn't arrive at a retention deal. That the Kings failed to defend 245 a few days ago against the Sunrisers Hyderabad could only fuel his motivation even further as his team looks to bounce back tonight in Mullanpur.
This is that stage in the tournament when teams often look to make a move and create as much of a gap as possible between themselves and the mid-table scramble. Both teams in question tonight are on six points each although the Kings have played one match fewer.
It's the brand of cricket that PBKS have preached and practiced that has made them one of the more eye-catching outfits of the season. This holds true for their batting in particular for right after clobbering 219 despite finding themselves at 83/5 against the Chennai Super Kings, they whipped up a monstrous total against the Sunrisers on a batting beauty.
Their young Indian batters have been the hallmark of this approach with Priyansh Arya taking audacious and fearless batting to a whole new level. Prabhsimran Singh has got the team off to a flyer too while Nehal Wadhera has been in excellent form in the middle-order. Shreyas has batted as well as he possibly ever has and Shashank Singh, while not young, has been so good that PBKS have been happy to bat him ahead of Glenn Maxwell too on certain days.
One can only imagine how destructive this team would look the day Maxwell clicks. With Josh Inglis waiting his turn, time may be running out for the Big Show but his bowling, coupled with proven match-winning prowess, certainly earns him a decent enough rope. Marcus Stoinis arrives having smashed four consecutive sixes off Mohammad Shami's final over and that will hold him and the Kings in good stead with Marco Jansen providing enviable depth down the order.
Having said that, as powerful as their batting has been, PBKS' bowlers have been just as concerning. To complicate matters further, Lockie Ferguson, who has been the team's best bowler so far, walked off the field with an injury in the first over he sent down against SRH and is all but out of the tournament for all practical purposes. His control and extra pace had given this attack a point of difference in the middle-overs and his absence could be particularly telling considering Yuzvendra Chahal's poor returns in that phase.
This only calls for Jansen and Arshdeep Singh to land those early inroads more than ever now. How PBKS plug the Ferguson-shaped hole though is a question that remains to be answered. While Azmatullah Omarzai offers the dual option of a swing bowler and elongating the batting lineup, Australia's Xavier Bartlett is the spare overseas seamer in the roster. A left field option could see Kuldeep Sen's extra wheels fetch him the nod but whichever route they take, PBKS will be desperately hopeful for a more consistent performance having shipped in excess of 200 three games on the bounce now.
KKR enter this contest having mercilessly taken down CSK at their fortress. But the first trend they would be desperate to buck is the sinusoidal loss-win pattern that they've experienced this season. Posting two wins on the trot, particularly at this stage of the tournament, could be the best indicator yet of a side peaking at the right time and Ajinkya Rahane and his men will be determined to do just that.
The biggest positive for the defending champions heading into this game is the return to form of Sunil Narine, who stunned CSK with a stellar all-round display. The bowling department remains in very capable hands even as they did bleed runs just a couple of games ago against the Lucknow Super Giants. In Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy, the Knights have eight overs of quality spin sorted while Moeen Ali has impressed whenever he has got an opportunity.
Conditions could dictate whether the Englishman keeps his spot or not with Spencer Johnson's new ball capability making him a favorite to return to the side. Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana have been outstanding themselves and there aren't too many attacks in the tournament that covers all bases like the one KKR have.
Their batting lineup seems to be steadily tiding over certain concerns that were on display in the early part of the tournament. A large part of that is down to Venkatesh Iyer hitting form with Rinku Singh also hitting a few sixes in the last couple of games. Andre Russell remains due for a big score but against a team he has done very well against in the past, he could have his say tonight. The one big box to tick off then could be Quinton de Kock getting back amongst the runs but with Rahane in pristine form and Angkrish Raghuvanshi doing his bit, it could free up the wicket-keeper batter to unleash his best.
It's the first of two games that these two teams will play against the other over a course of twelve days. A win tonight could certainly provide them with the ideal psychological edge ahead of the reverse fixture and while the Knight Riders' bowling unit gives them a slight upper hand, there's not a whole deal to pick from the two sides.
And that, if anything, only sets us up for a potential all-timer again much like we witnessed last year. The Mullanpur deck has favored batting so far in the tournament and how the bowlers adapt could end up deciding the contest. Should PBKS' attack rise to the occasion, they could be well on their way towards keeping the defending champs quiet. But given that momentum is on KKR's side, it will be far from easy!
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